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Erudite AfricaCenter of Excellence
← Financial Management for SMEs: Financial Literacy for SMEs

Setting Up a Business Financial System

Module 01 / 6 · 65 min · Free preview

Choose the right business form, register and license it, get a TIN and VAT registration, open a business bank account, and set the basic money rules before the first sale.

In this module you will learn to

  • Compare the main business forms under the Commercial Code No. 1243/2021 and their capital rules
  • List the steps and documents for commercial registration, a trade name, a business license and a TIN
  • Explain why every company must register for VAT and how the ETB 50,000 cash payment rule shapes your banking
  • Set basic financial governance rules and keep personal and business money apart

Built on

  • Erudite Africa training curriculum: Financial Management for SMEs, Level 1 Beginner, Financial Literacy for SMEs (October 2026)
  • Commercial Code Proclamation No. 1243/2021; Commercial Registration and Business Licensing Proclamation No. 980/2016 as amended by No. 1150/2019, and Regulation No. 392/2016 as amended by No. 461/2020
  • Income Tax Proclamation No. 979/2016 as amended by No. 1395/2025; Federal Tax Administration Proclamation No. 983/2016 as amended by No. 1434/2026
  • VAT Proclamation No. 1341/2024; VAT Registration Directive No. 1104/2025; Electronic Invoicing System Administration Directive No. 1142/2026; Council of Ministers Regulation No. 139/2007 on sales register machines
  • Financial Reporting Proclamation No. 847/2014; Private Organization Employees' Pension Proclamation No. 1268/2022
  • Investopia's verified Ethiopian tax and business law fact sheet (October 2026), based on the laws above and summaries by PwC, KPMG, EY, Grant Thornton, the IFRS Foundation and Ethiopian law firms

Examples and companies are fictional. Tax rates and rules are shown as they stood when the course was written; always check the current proclamations, directives and guidance from the Ministry of Revenues before filing, and take professional advice for your own case.